


Spider-Man's name is...

by thiefless



Series: Peta Parker [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Female Peter Parker, Gen, Guilt, Miscommunication, Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home Mid-Credits Scene, Spider-Man Identity Reveal, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22426039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thiefless/pseuds/thiefless
Summary: “Spider-Man’s real name is... PETA PARKER!”Or: how the team react to the live unmasking of Spider-Man.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark
Series: Peta Parker [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608025
Comments: 52
Kudos: 686
Collections: Avengers fics I love, Irondad and his Iron kids, Spider-Man Public Identity Reveal, ellie marvel fics - read





	Spider-Man's name is...

**Author's Note:**

> *crawls out from under rock* Hey guys! I am truly, terribly sorry it's taken me like a month to finally post this. This was a stubborn thing to write, and I'm still not sure I completely like it, but hey ho. 
> 
> If you haven't read the first story - which you can find [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21219440/chapters/50518307) \- then it'll probably be easier to do so, as this will make no sense otherwise. 
> 
> I hope you guys all enjoy it.

_“Spider-Man attacked me for some reason. She's got an army of weaponised drones – Stark technology. She's the one who planted the bomb in Stark Tower; said she was the only one who could be the hero. No one else._

_“Spider-Man’s real name is... PETA PARKER!”_

~

Silence reigned supreme in the wake of Mysterio's confession. 

(No; not Mysterio. Beck. Fucking Quentin Beck. The asshat who genuinely believed he was the second coming of Jesus Christ, who had grand plans of world domination under a guise of 'national safety'. B.A.R.F. had actually been hindered by Beck's interference, and Tony had no choice but to fire him when his instability grew too fierce to be contained. _That_ guy.)

The revelation of Spider-Man's – Spider- _Woman's_ , he should say – true identity rendered the previously warm atmosphere tense. Shocked gasps and sharp inhalations, followed by a breathless acknowledgement that _Peta Parker_ was – was –

“No. No, that's not true. That's not possible. I would know.” May had surpassed the others; denial colouring her words, frantically pleading against the truth. “I would know.”

Happy looked pale, and vaguely nauseous. Tony didn't have to check a mirror to know that his own face was of a similar resemblance. 

“I would _know_ ,” May stressed; broken. 

Steve cleared his throat. “Sometimes, it's hard to see what's right in front of us. Even when it's glaringly obvious. And someone like Spider-Man, like _Peta_ – they protect their secrets.”

Ah, Cap, Tony mused dryly. Always dying to inject some much-needed pearls of wisdom in traumatic situations. 

As expected, she didn't take to his words too kindly. May sucked in a ragged breath. “My daughter is _not_ a criminal. Don't speak about her like she is. She's _good_ , and she's _kind_ , and –”

“And she's Spider-Man,” Tony finished, a hoarse confession. The first words he'd dare to speak. Funnily enough, saying it out loud didn't magically make it more believable. 

This was definitely _not_ how Tony envisioned his day going. 

May reeled back as if slapped. Tony could relate. Honesty had a way of screwing you over if you let it. And, going by Beck's proclamation, Peta had let it. 

“She saved Morgan,” May said suddenly, as if the thought had just materialised. “That day at Stark Tower. When you were all so busy _blaming_ her, Peta saved Morgan, and everyone else.”

Oh. 

Oh, _no._

The shame spiral was practically a nostalgic tango to Tony at this point in his life, but this horrific realisation set a new Olympic record. 

_“If – If we could just, uh, talk alone –”_

Peta's voice, unbidden, floated into his mind. Tony's blood ran cold. 

She was trying to _tell him_ , having no other option. Tony snatched the truth right from her, forcibly contorted and moulded her words until they fit into the neat little narrative he'd constructed for her. 

Guilt was the primary emotional response his mind leaped to, overriding all others. His stomach turned sour; acid curdled in his gut, fermenting his tongue with poisonous intent. _Tony_ tossed her out on her ass, didn't let her get a word in edgewise to defend herself after _she saved his daughter_ , and –

Look. How the _fuck_ did Tony miss it? Peta was dropping clues left, right and centre; tiny little hints and wisps of her true identity that bypassed Tony's attentiveness. 

_“He's from Queens. Us New Yorkers gotta stick together.”_ – That's what she said, the day when her rendition on Spider-Man's motivations struck a little too familiar to Tony. 

Okay. Tony was gonna flesh this one out:

Peta was undeniably clever. But, more than just book smart, she was innovative, was able to keep up with Tony's quips, and indirectly challenged his own hypothesises on many an occasion. _Peta_ was the one who nudged him in the right direction with the web fluid. It was _her_ invention – Tony was just the greedy bastard who wanted to see what it could do first-hand – and she handed over the reigns. She held intimate knowledge on Spider-Man, yet did not flaunt it. At first glance, Tony dismissed her as a mere fangirl. As time progressed, and he got to know her, piece by piece, he adjusted his stance and pondered whether the untimely death of her uncle had some bearing on her stance on Spider-Man. 

Not even in his wildest dreams had the truth surfaced. An error on Tony's judgement – and one he vowed would never happen again. 

Tony was unceremoniously hauled out of his reverie by Happy's ravaged gasp. 

“The Vulture,” he breathed, eyes wide as Peta Parker's reality set in. 

Tony's stomach launched itself away, descending into the soles of his feet and burrowing into the ground. 

“That was almost three years ago,” Clint said. 

“She would have been fifteen,” Natasha added, voice even yet with a tinge of pity. 

Tony could see tears pool in May's eyes. A plane crash – Peta was in a goddamn plane crash, protecting _Tony's_ loot. And what had she gotten for her trouble?

_“What you did was bad. It was really fucking bad. But. Everybody deserves a second chance.”_

No. Some people didn't deserve second chances – or, _hell_ , third or fourth or ten-million chances. Tony had run out of chances, and he sure as fuck wasn't about to buy one straight from Peta. 

“How did I not see this?” May muttered to herself, hands clenched into tight little fists. “Why the hell didn't I see this sooner?”

Her question remained unanswered: isolated and alone. Not dissimilar to Peta. 

“So, we're agreed,” Sam hedged cautiously after a few moments respite. “Peta can't have been responsible for what this caped weirdo is saying – that she wasn't responsible for the attack on London, or,” Sam looked at Tony for a fleeting moment, “for what happened at Stark Tower?”

Tony hadn't even realised that was up for debate. As if anyone would dare refute that claim.

“Of course we're fucking agreed,” May hissed, eyes flashing wild in her rage. “Peta would _never_.”

Sam held his hands up in surrender, but May's anger wasn't directed at Sam. Her gaze was targeted at Tony. 

“I thought you were a genius,” she whispered. “How did you not realise? You spent all that time with, you _betrayed_ her – and you didn't even notice?”

There was nothing May Parker could hurl his way that he wasn't already blaming himself for. 

“May...” Pepper started, paused, and then relented. No excuses could vindicate them of their crimes, and none more so than Tony. 

“ _No_.” May shrugged off Pepper's false start, levelling Tony with a rage-filled stare. It was inescapable; a black hole luring Tony in. “No. Okay? Just: no. You were her hero,” she pointed the finger at Tony, “her favourite Avenger. You saved her life at Stark Expo, and ever since she's wanted to be like you. To be a _hero_ – like _you_. And what do you do?”

The question was rhetorical, but Tony was fairly certain the resounding silence spoke for itself. 

May upturned her lips, mouth contorting in her fury. Tony felt every atom of her wrath in his soul. 

“Exactly.” She leaned in. “Nothing.”

With that, she turned her head, releasing him from his imprisonment. Oxygen rushed back into his lungs, exchanging the build-up of CO2. Even with that, though, his breath did not come easier.

Beck had said, in his final transmission seeking to besmirch Spider-Man's good name: _“She's the one who planted the bomb in Stark Tower.”_ Because it just wasn't enough to shift the blame of London onto her, because Peta hadn't suffered enough – by Tony's own hand, no less! No, Beck had to launch a smear campaign against her, tarnishing everything she stood for, employ her as an unwilling scapegoat, and bask in the fallout. 

This was categorically Tony's fault. He should have recognised the psychopath for what he was, way back when – not invite him to nit-pick his state-of-the-art B.A.R.F. technology, and then attempt to pass it off as his own. That had been the last straw, and Beck had quickly been shown the door. ( _Like he did to Peta–)_ Tony'd foolishly believed that Beck's new unemployed status would be the wake-up call the guy needed to seek some much-needed help, but alas. 

Tony only had himself to blame. 

Titanic. His guilt was titanic – and, much like the aforementioned tragedy, Tony would sink.

The sound of a door opening ripped him out of his introspection. In traipsed Rhodey, Morgan, Bruce and Thor from where his daughter had coerced them into playing make-believe superheroes. 

God. That felt like a lifetime ago, now. 

“What's going on?” Rhodey inquired, deploying his customary defensive stance. Morgan leapt over to Pepper, seeking comfort beside her mother. The tension in the room was palpable. “Has something happened?”

“Peta's Spider-Man,” Happy blurted, face impassive. The calm before the storm. 

Bruce's lips upturned, searching for the joke on everyone's faces. 

Rhodey was unamused. “That's not funny.”

Tony cleared his throat. “The truth rarely is,” he said. “That's why it's called the truth.”

The faces of his companions melted in comprehension; truth peeling back their skin, layer by layer. 

“Man of spiders is the girl?” Thor inquired. It wasn't a question. 

“Oh, no,” Bruce murmured. 

Rhodey's façade chipped, a mask of Tony's own creation. “ _Oh, Tony_ ,” he whispered, consoling himself as much as he was Tony. Rhodey had been his ally, firmly on his side, when he relayed what had happened at Stark Tower. 

Not one of them – not a single soul amongst them – saw Peta Parker for who she really was: a liar. But a noble one. 

And now she was facing persecution because of it. 

“She asked me not to tell,” Morgan revealed, determination etched onto every one of her features, yet an apology staining her conviction. With all the commotion, he'd temporarily forgotten she was still in the room, huddled behind Pepper's legs. 

At his daughter's admission, his own words played on repeat in his head, reverberating through his skull, self-flagellation never letting up.

_“Have it your way. If you ever come near Stark Industries again, I will personally throw your ass back out onto the street. Capiche?”_

Tony had said that. Those exact words. Perfect memory recall, because his brain only hark back on his past mistakes, his conscience prattling rom atop its soapbox. Bit late for that, now. 

Morgan fished around in her pocket, withdrawing what appeared to be a cylindrical item. “She gave me this.” She held it out. Spider-Man’s web fluid. “Said that if I needed her, then I just press this button and she'll come.”

Tony's heart, which he had long since believed he'd dispossessed – fragmented.

Because the truth was this: Peta Parker was so busy saving everyone else – who protected her? 

Answer: no one. 

Tony knew he would never forgive himself for this despicable transgression. He would gladly spend the rest of his life making it up to her.

~

A team comprised of Nat, Clint, Sam, Bucky, Bruce and Thor all volunteered to pair off and prowl the streets of New York in search of Peta. Tony was adamant that he should go, but was staunchly refused.

 _E.D.I.T.H. will show you what happened, Tony,_ Pepper said, his voice of reason. _You need to know what happened. Going in blind might make things worse._

Pepper sequestered Morgan to the adjacent room. She didn't need to see this. 

E.D.I.T.H. relayed every transaction between Peta and Beck in 4D. Tony didn't want to miss a single second, even at the cost of his sanity. The others seemed to agree. Although, Happy did try and coax May to stay with Morgan and Pepper – but she was resolute and determined. 

“I'm not going anywhere,” May said. “I want to know every single thing that bastard did to my baby.”

Tony empathised. Were Beck not already dead, he would gladly fire him into a new dimension if he had his way. 

They watched as Peta was split, caught between Nick Fury and Beck's merry band of psychopaths like a human tug of war. The Staten Ferry Island sprang to mind – Spider-Man holding two broken pieces together at great cost. Sooner or later, she would be torn apart.

~

Beck had this to say after setting the bomb off in Stark Tower, attempting to murder Tony's daughter and hundreds of his employees, purloining his weapons system: _“Peta Parker is the anti-Tony Stark in every way. She's unfailingly good, there's no ego to hide behind – just a need to protect others. She will let her own reputation shatter if it meant her secret was safe.”_

When tasked with giving a rousing speech to fellow ex-employees, to like-minded, manic comrades, Beck argued: _“Peta Parker is another victim of Tony Stark's cruelty and arrogance. She should never have saved his stupid brat. Stark didn't even give her the dignity of a response, just chucked her out on her ass like she was meaningless, just like he did to me. To all of us. Well, Peta Parker is not meaningless to us. The new and improved Spider-Girl and Mysterio duo will be the new face of superheroes. All I need to do is win her trust, and she will be one of us.”_

Beck told William, in private: _“Peta Parker is the fuse holding Spider-Girl back from releasing her full capabilities. Only I can free her from the constraints of morality and unlock her full potential.”_

– and a part of Tony died with every utterance.

~

E.D.I.T.H. couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when Peta caught on to the ruse, but having the events unfold from Beck's perspective gave him some idea, and soon enough technology that was moulded by _Tony's_ hand was set to murder. 

E.D.I.T.H.'s first target: Peta Parker. 

Tony's whole body flinched when the train came for Peta, reacting on pure instinct, as if possessed by the spirit of the most heroic person he knew.

Hitched gasps, and wet sobs filled Tony's ears, but Tony was immobile, muted. Imprisoned by the truth he was too blind to see. 

The sequence of events that led up to the bullet train knocking the bravest superhero was sure to live on in Tony's nightmares for the foreseeable future – haunting him even in the afterlife. Peta fought against duplicitous drones, illusions that lacked the power to harm but dealt damage all the same; Peta was _shot_ , was hurled off the side of a _building_ , was tricked in front of a high-speed _train_ –

Peta was fighting against insurmountable odds. 

Nevertheless, she persisted.

~

Watching Peta pulverise his drones whilst simultaneously attempting to dismantle his billion-dollar weapons system was one of the most frightening experiences of Tony's considerably-aged life. Not the least because he knew, with every fibre of his being, that he deserved none of her loyalty. 

Judging by the horrified faces decorating his periphery as they surveyed the footage E.D.I.T.H. helpfully recalled, the Avengers were on the same page. 

Peta looked every bit the superhero he knew she was, wearing the suit they had both worked on. 

“Is the suit immune to the drone attacks?” May asked quietly, intuitive dread underlying her tone.

Tony answered anyway: “No.”

Peta was extraordinary as Spider-Man, devoted to the task at hand, fierce in her resolve. She dodged bullets, pulled Tony's tech apart by the stitches, using his drones as trampolines to finally reach Beck. 

_“Your lies are over, Beck.”_

A weak chuckle. _“This certainly isn't ideal, but I have contingencies. E.D.I.T.H.?”_

Peta was blasted once more.

She got back up.

Beck was on his last legs – and Peta knew just how to exploit it. She dismantled the last illusion, Beck caught in the cross-fire, before slumping to the ground. He was decked in CGI finery, no trace of that ridiculous costume that was doctored onto the false footage and broadcast to the world.

“That bastard,” May hissed. “I'm going to kill him.” 

_“You lied to me,”_ Peta said, face impassive, looking for all the world like the martyr she was. _“And I trusted you.”_

 _“I know,”_ Beck replied. His calm, apologetic exterior belied the falsehood. _“That's the most disappointing part. You're a good person, Peta.”_

Beck held out the glasses.

_“You deserve them.”_

Peta didn't move. Until –

_Bang!_

Everyone in the room flinched as the gunshot reverberated, the cacophony of explosion stealing the breath of everyone present. 

Peta held the _real_ Quentin Beck by his wrist, smoking gun in hand, arm held above her head. Behind her, the glass shattered. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw Happy take the brunt of May's weight, as she half collapsed into him. 

_“You can't trick me anymore,”_ were Peta's parting words, snatching up E.D.I.T.H. and quickly instructing her to terminate all cancellation protocols. _“Do it,”_ she responded. _“Execute them all.”_

“Oh my god,” Rhodey mouthed. The video. 

Fake news. 

Beck set her up. Peta was predisposed to fail.

As evidenced by his last words – because of course he had to have the last word: _“People need to believe. And nowadays, they'll believe anything.”_

Posthumous victory; slandering Spider-Man and Peta Parker in one fell swoop. 

As May collapsed, as Steve sucked in a harsh breath, as Happy choked back a sob, as Rhodey eyed the floor in shame, as Tony stood like a man turned fucking statuesque in emotional turmoil, E.D.I.T.H. switched off the footage.

~

“I'm going to find her, May,” Tony swore, pure conviction authenticating his words. “I promise. I'm going to find her, and I'm going to bring her back.”

At May's voiceless assent, Iron Man engulfed him, and he took off.

**Author's Note:**

> I know. Angsty ending. I have a couple more ideas for this series in my head, which I may write down at some point. I just want to thank you all again for being the most amazing readers! I love you all so much!


End file.
